Yankees Have No Hope of Getting Back Into ALCS if Most of Lineup Can't Find Rhythm

Don't let Gerrit Cole's line in Game 3 distract you from the fact that the plurality of the New York Yankees lineup has struggled mightily throughout the first three games of the ALCS. Cole wasn't at his best, and he was certainly let off the hook by a lineup replete with sad batting lines.

Gleyber Torres has contributed MORE than his fair share of offensive production, while DJ Lemahieu and Aaron Judge have pinched in here and there with their own cameos.

What should have manager Aaron Boone utterly panicked is the sheer dreariness of the likes of Didi Gregorius, Gary Sanchez, Edwin Encarnacion, Brett Gardner, and Gio Urshela (most of the team!). The normally-trustworthy bunch have combined for a woeful .116 batting average (7-for-60) thus far, and no team can overcome five black holes like that.

That's simply not going to get it done, and with the Houston Astros "stealing" Game 3 in front of a rambunctious Yankee Stadium crowd, the Pinstripes should be feeling awfully worried.

Everybody knows that the Yanks lineup, other than their world-beating bullpen, of course, is their most prominent strength. In fact, it was largely considered right up there with the Astros' throughout the majority of the 2019 campaign as the best in baseball.

Once the ALCS hit, however, the Bombers have only been able to rely on Torres, LeMahieu, and Judge for run support.

If that daunting narrative doesn't change, the Yankees simply stand no chance at getting back in this series, even though they are down just two games to one.

The bullpen can live up to their billing all they want, but if New York can't establish some sort of rhythm on offense, the Astros should be able to sanction a stranglehold on the series.

We'll know fairly quickly in Game 4 if anything has changed. After all, the list of those who need to turn it around greatly outnumbers the list of folks who are doing just fine.